On the Run
by Jean B. Accolay
Summary: Kritiker turns on Schwartz and Weiss, and the two join forces in the face of a common enemy. Pairings: AxY, KxO, BxS, FxN
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer for the whole fic: not mine.

Chapter one

BRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGG!

Yohji grumbled and turned over on his side in bed. "duwanna geddup…s'too early…" he

mumbled. He shifted a little, then settled back for some more sleep.

"YOHJI! WAKE UP ALREADY!" There was the sound of footsteps stomping up the

stairs, and then a very mad Omi stomped into the room. "It's your turn to take the

morning shift, you baka! Get up! Customers are already downstairs!" He grabbed a

pillow and started to whack Yohji over the head with it.

"Itai! Itai! I'm up, I'm up!" Yohji rolled out of bed with a whump and pulled on his

clothes. Damn, this definitely wasn't the way he preferred to get up in the morning. Omi

chased him all the way to the stairs, yelling as he scrambled down the stairs,

"And you'd better not slack off!" Then he turned and went back into his room.

"Okay! Jeez…" he muttered as he hurried past an indifferent Aya, who was drinking his

tea and reading the paper, his face emotionless. He put on his apron and joined Ken at the

counter, smiling at some of the teenage girls that flooded the shop, making them giggle

and swoon. "Hey there! How can I help a pretty girl like you today?"

Another day in the Schwartz household. 7:30 am.

"Shit! I'm going to be late!" Nagi ran out of the door. Schuldig wasn't up to give him a

ride in his car. But then again, he almost never was up before noon, so- yeah. Nagi ran to

the train station, barely making it before the doors closed. As the train moved out, he

made his way over to a vacant seat, sighing and pulling out a thick textbook as he did so.

They had a test today in Biology. Nagi didn't like the subject, it made him think of

Masafumi's experiments. He shuddered. But it was school, and he couldn't argue.

Brad left for work at 7:45 am. He arrived at the office at 8:30. As he walked throgh the hallway of the building, he felt a familiar slight disorientation, stopped walking, made his way over to the wall and leaned against it as the vision hit.

"_You-!" _

_Guns. Shooting. No time for Nagi to get up a shield. It was a raid on their house. He looked down at himself, covered in blood. Schuldig-he didn't want to think about his lover laying on the ground covered in his own blood._

_Farfarello snarling, in a blind rage as Nagi dropped to the ground, bullets whizzing, ripping holes in pale scarred flesh, vision graying, he saw the face of one of the raiders, a lock of red hair-and he had a jolt of recognition before he faded-_

_Manx. The woman working for Takatori…_

_Fade to black, vision swimming once more, images floating, Weiss being shot down by Manx… cold smirk on Persia's face… _

Crawford snapped out of the vision, panting. He could feel the sweat on his face as he grasped the wall weakly for support, glad that there was no one there right now. He staggered over to his office and sat down heavily in his chair. Both Schwartz and Weiss were in danger, he realized. Kritiker was turning on them both. For what reason, he had no idea. He took a deep breath. Then he contacted Schuldig through the Schwartz mindlink.

It's me.

Hallo, Brad. What's up? Schuldig mindspoke in German. Brad mindspoke in English.

Listen carefully. About five days from now Kritiker will attack both Schwartz and Weiss's strongholds. We need to contact Nagi and Farfarello, get them ready immediately for a fast move. We need to be out of here in at most three days, the faster the better.

Kind of sudden, na? Why are they attacking?

I have no idea. On second thought, take Weiss too, we might need their help sometime.

Ja, The kitties are so amusing!

Schuldig, I am _dead_ serious. Crawford's mindvoice was clipped. Schuldig understood the gravity of the situation, he trusted his lover.

Okay, then, see you. They broke contact.

Crawford sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had a lot to do if he was to disappear silently from his office one day. He got to work.

"Whew!" Yohji wiped mock sweat from his brow, leaning on the table during his lunch

break.

"That was almost intimidating. I've never seen so many of the girls before!" Ken looked nervously at the teeming horde in the shop, grateful that his shift was over and Aya and Omi had to deal with the girls. Maybe there was an illusion, and they weren't really humans, but animals in disguise! He actually wouldn't be that surprised if they were, and that kind of scared him.

"IF YOU AREN'T BUYING ANYTHING, THEN GET OUT!" Aya's voice roared throughout the house. Ken winced.

"How do put up with a temper like that all the time, Yohji?" he asked the brunette.

"I don't. He usually isn't like this." Yohji replied.

From outside there was dead silence.

"Guess it worked."

"Yeah."

Suddenly there was a shout:

"Schwartz!"

accolay: Well, there you have it. My first wk fic.

chibi-me: It's kinda short.

accolay: Shut up! I have to do my English essay!

Please review. I know that it's extra work for the readers, but one review can really make a writer's day. I am totally serious. PLEASE review.


	2. Chapter 2

Yohji leaped up from his chair. So did Ken. They rushed out into the shop. Mastermind stood there, lazing against the counter. Aya's eyes were narrowed, and Omi was wary.

"What do you want?" Ken said.

"Hey, hey, relax! I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to offer a truce, actually."

"A truce?" Yohji was suspicious. Thoughts raced through his mind. What could the German telepath possibly want?

"As I said, if you'd let me continue, Schwartz is offering a truce. You need us, actually. You see-"

"Why would we need you?" Aya spat. Schuldig twitched slightly.

"If You'd Let Me _finish,_ you would _know_!"

"Fine. Go on." Omi said.

Schuldig explained Crawford's vision, and the "team up with Weiss" plan. Ken didn't know what to think. It could all be a trick, but why would Schwartz go this far? He decided to leave the decision making to Aya, who appeared in deep thought, a slight frown on his face.

"Well? What's your verdict?" Schuldig was waiting.

The members of Weiss looked at each other. In the end, they decided that it would be better to run with the enemy than risk the chance of getting mowed down in their house, if what Schuldig said was true. And if it wasn't, then they could always go back.

"We'll go with you." Aya said shortly. Schuldig clapped his hands together.

"Then we will meet you by the abandoned warehouse in two day's time. Auf wiedersehen!"

He walked out the door and was gone.

Omi sighed.

"Let's get packing, then."

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Nagi was at school when Schuldig contacted him. Great, he thought to himself, looking at the clock. He was sure he'd at least passed the bio test, which was good because it was one thing he didn't have to worry about, but they had to move again. Ever since the team-turned-slightly-insane-family had broken ties with Estet, they'd been moving from safehouse to safehouse, each member picking up an odd job whenever they settled down in a new place. They'd finally managed to stay in one place for more than three months, which was a record for them. Crawford had gotten a job at some business, Schu had started working at a nightclub downtown and was actually getting paid pretty well for it, even Farf was doing a side job as a cook. He was surprisingly good at it. Nagi sighed as he thought of his boyfriend, and then shook his head to clear it of thoughts. Schu would probably tease him to no end if he picked up on any of his thoughts. Blushing slightly, he jerked his head up as the bell rang. He gathered his books and stood up, following the mass exodus out of the classroom. It was last period, he could go home for the day. He grabbed his stuff from his locker and swung his backpack over his shoulder. Walking out the door, he glanced at the truck that stood at the school's entrance. Strange, he thought, frowning. That's never been here before.

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Walking on the street, Brad stopped dead as the vision hit without warning. People muttered and walked around him as he stood stock still in the middle of the street. Then he snapped out of it, cursed, and started sprinting in the other direction, towards Nagi's school.

Kritiker was moving faster than anticipated.

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Schuldig was hanging around at the Schwartz home.

Schuldig! Schuldig started. He'd never heard Crawford sound so close to desperation.

What?

Get Farf and Weiss, NOW. Nagi's in danger.

Nagi? Is he alright?

I can't tell you right now. Get them to somewhere safe, and _fast._ A hospital, preferably.

Schuldig didn't question the strange order.

Ja.

Farfarello walked into the room.

"Something wrong?" he asked, watching Schuldig strip the house of anything that might contain information of Schwartz.

"Very wrong. Get your knives and anything you want, we won't be coming back." He grabbed a suitcase as Farfarello disappeared into his room. Moments later, Farf came back out wearing his vest; his knife collection hidden in various places all over his body and his clothes in a small bag he carried. Schu gave the now-almost bare room a once-over, then nodded to Farf, and both went out of the room.

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Nagi kept walking away from the school, but there was a nagging feeling that something was wrong, that there was danger nearby. He walked faster. Suddenly, gunshots rang out. People screamed. Kids were running, panicking, adults were shouting, and Nagi was moving, putting up a telekinetic shield, dodging bullets-

They were aiming for him.

This realization hit him like a splash of cold water in his face. Kritiker. But Crawford had said-

No time to think about that now, he told himself grimly, shield deflecting another rain of bullets. People were starting to notice that no bullet was hitting him. He had to finish this now, or somebody would report it. He -

"Not so fast, kid." a low, gravely voice growled in his ear. A strong, hammy hand gripped Nagi's skinny arm hard enough that it felt like it was about to break. Nagi froze as he felt the cool sensation of a gun's muzzle pressed against his temple. There was no time to react, the gun would kill him before he could move-

There was a prickling sensation in his arm, and he recognized it vaguely- a needle. Some sort of sedative…it's working.

The shield dropped.

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accolay: Cliffie!

chibi-me:shakes head

accolay: Review! I love all my reviewers, even if they flame. I realize the first chapter is a little boring-

chibi-me: A little?

accolay: Shhhh! Yeah, so as soon as you get past that first chapter, I hope it gets better-more action!

chibi-me: Hope you like it! Tell us if you think anyone is too OOC coughCrawfordcough and we'll try our best to change it. We really wanted Schwartz to be more like a family in this one. So please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Crawford sprinted across downtown Tokyo, brushing past people, running red lights. Cars honked, people shouted, but he ignored them. As Nagi's school came into view, he started to hear screams. Behind him, police sirens wailed-too far away, Nagi would be dead before _they_ got there. He pulled out a gun from the inside of his jacket, taking aim as he ran. He could see where the truck was, people with their faces covered were spilling out if it, shooting all around them, but focusing on Nagi.

Where was Nagi? Crawford caught sight of the boy-then his heart gave a jolt as he saw the huge man standing behind the telekinetic with a gun pressed to Nagi's head. Crawford knew that Nagi had a shield up, but it was useless if the man fired right then. He saw one of the men shoot a sedative-Nagi slumped- the shield was dropping- Crawford _moved._

He lifted his arm, bringing his gun to eye level, and shot the man's hand off. As the man screamed in pain, he let go of Nagi, who slumped to the ground just as the bullets that would have killed him whizzed over his head, hitting the shrieking man. He was dead within seconds. The gunmen shouted, then started running towards Nagi's unconscious body on the ground. Crawford reached Nagi, threw the boy over his shoulder, and _ran._

Bullets were hissing past him, over his head, to the side, too close for comfort, but he dodged best he could and kept running. One hit his leg-he barely felt it. Buildings and people whizzed by them. Where was the hospital, where was the hospital, _where was the fucking goddamn hospital_-

BANG!

Crawford's torso was shoved forward with the force of the shot, he could see the blood trailing the bullet, but he couldn't stop now. Gasping for breath, he turned around and shot at the men chasing them, ignoring screams and shouts. Three shots, three down, Crawford started to run again. Nagi's light frame was cradled against the man's chest, protected from errant bullets. Finally, a white building came into view. He dashed into the lobby, men were at the door-shots-glass breaking, and a white figure in a blue vest springing past him, towards the men-distantly noting a person with orange hair leap up from his seat-

_Brad! What happened? Are you-_

_Get the boy, Schuldig. _

Schuldig grabbed Nagi's limp form as Crawford collapsed on the hospital floor. There were nurses and doctors running in, frantic, putting the precognitive on a cart and wheeling Brad away.

Farf took Nagi's body from Schuldig. The redhead gave him a grateful look, then raced after the American. A doctor approached Farf timidly.

"Ah, if you please, sir, we, uh, should really have him treated with the other one."

Farf stared at him for a minute, then reluctantly surrendered. He followed them as they took Nagi into a room with all sorts of machinery, and then they told him that he had to wait outside, so he sat outside the door, absentmindedly playing with a knife. Weiss came running up to him.

"What was that all about?" Ken asked.

"Kritiker did that." Farf replied. There were expressions of shock on every face. Omi swallowed.

"How-"

"They drove an armored truck to Nagi's school, planning to eliminate him first. Brad foiled that plan." Weiss turned to see Schuldig walking towards them, an angry look on his face.

"How do you know it was Kritiker?" Yohji asked. Aya just looked at the German.

"I looked through Crawford's memories of it, and I recognized Manx." Omi's eyes widened.

"No!" Schuldig turned to him.

"You want the mental image? I'll send it to you guys. Have a look for yourself."

Yohji sat down abruptly as images and colors flooded his mind, finally solidifying into defined, recognizable shapes.

_Lurching forward-must get to Nagi before they do-_

_Shouts were echoing, and somewhere-a splash of deep red hair- lipstick-_

Yohji turned, still in the memory, and saw a face. Shock flooded through him. That was unmistakably Manx.

_A smirk on lipsticked lips as she watched the scene, turning into annoyance as she saw Crawford getting away-_

And then he was on the floor of the hospital, gasping as if he'd just taken a dip in a lake. His head was spinning, and he saw that the other members of Weiss were not better off than him. Omi looked green, and Aya was holding his head in both hands. Yohji looked up at Farfarello and Schuldig.

"We believe you."

Schuldig sighed.

"Now all we can do is wait for them to get better. I'm not going anywhere out of the city without Brad or Nagi." Farf nodded in agreement. His one golden eye looked at each of them in turn.

"We will have to run."

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"What d'you think he meant by that?" Ken asked around a bite of his chicken sandwich that was his lunch. Omi looked at him.

"What do you think he meant? We're obviously going to flee. We cannot stay in the same place anymore."

"Yeah, but Kritiker will always be on our cases if we just keep on running from them. Don't you think it's better to stay and fight, so we can finally either die or be rid of the looming threat forever? I know I would prefer that to constantly being pressured to escape, to find someplace no one could find you, and constantly live with the fear of Kritiker."

Omi was surprised. Ken actually had a pretty good point.

"I'll ask him what he meant, then." he said thoughtfully. Ken took another bite of his sandwich.

"Yeah, mention it to the telepath, too."

In another part of the hospital, Aya walked along the corridors. He remembered all the times he'd visited his sister in places like these, all sterile white and doctors and nurses. Now his sister was going to college in another city. He sighed and ran a hand through his red hair. Time passed so quickly…

"Whatcha angsting about this time, Ayan?" Aya jumped as Yohji clapped his hand down on Aya's shoulder.

"Hn."

Yohji pouted.

"Naaa, Ayan…talk to me. I'm going insane here!"

Aya sighed again.

"There's nothing to talk about, Yohji."

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"Crawford-san has two bullet wounds, the one in his chest is very serious. We might have to wait a few days before he can sit up. The one in his leg is less serious, the only pressing problem being the amount of blood he lost in running so hard on it."

"Thanks, doctor. And Nagi?"

"The boy was given a powerful sedative, your companion Farfarello has already seen-"

"It's like the ones ye give me sometimes, when you say I go crazy."

"Ah, yes, but there seems to be a different component in it."

_It's blocking his telekinesis. _Farf sounded angry at the idea.

_Thanks._ Schuldig sent back.

"It's impeding his recovery. But we've found that talking to him helps lessen the amount of the _x_ drug that is so troublesome, apparently either sound waves or emotion can break it down. So we've been talking to him as much as we can."

A beat.

"Can I see him?" Farf asked.

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accolay: Okay, another chapter. Disclaimer:Not mine.

PLEASE REVIEW!


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